The City of Duncan, Town of Ladysmith, Islands Trust, District of Highlands, and District of Ucluelet all met their carbon neutral commitments through the Community Carbon Marketplace in 2014 by retiring 646 tonnes of community carbon credits. As a direct result, these local governments have invested over $16,000 into the local low-carbon economy.

The Community Carbon Marketplace (CCM) provides a new local approach for communities to lower their carbon footprint while kick-starting the local low-carbon economy. For the first time, small to mid-sized businesses and community organizations can generate revenue streams for every tonne of carbon reduced through eligible GHG projects by participating in the innovative online CCM Program. This new revenue stream rewards sustainable business decisions and acts as a tipping point in favor of making them.

Green businesses rewarded for reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the CCM program include the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op, Island Bio-Diesel Co-op, Greasecycle Inc., and Net Zero Waste in Abbottsford.

For local governments, the CCM is a positive way to meet their Climate Action Charter commitments while investing in the growth of their local low-carbon economy. Currently, 178 out of 182 communities in BC have made the commitment to become carbon neutral. Through their participation in the CCM, the City of Duncan, Town of Ladysmith, Islands Trust, District of Highlands, and District of Ucluelet are sending a clear message that they can support community solutions to climate change by investing in their local green economy.

The Community Carbon Marketplace is an initiative of Cowichan Energy Alternatives (CEA), a community non-profit organization. If your organization or business is working on a green project that reduces GHG emissions, you may be doing more than a good thing for the environment – you may be generating revenue which until now has been inaccessible. The CCM is a carbon exchange initiative that enables local governments, businesses and individuals to meet carbon-neutral objectives and build community resilience by purchasing community carbon credits from local businesses and projects that reduce GHG emissions such as such as switching from fossil fuels to bio-fuels or electric vehicles, diverting organics from landfill, and building retrofits.

The CCM provides an accessible, transparent investment vehicle for contributing to the success of green initiatives that have the greatest potential for making a difference. CCM aims to set an ethical precedent in the BC Carbon market that true sustainability is about acting locally and thinking globally. Contact the CCM if you are still in the market for community based carbon credits. As expressed by Brian Roberts, Executive Director – Cowichan Energy Alternatives Society.

“This is exactly the way I believe the carbon market should be working: supporting a paradigm-shift to a truly sustainable, globally-minded economy in a way that increases the viability of renewable alternatives at a local level.